Sustainable Growth: Lessons from A.G. Lafley (part 1)

I'm attending the Fresh Summit in Orlando this week(end). The show is all about the produce industry and the keynote speaker was the former CEO of Proctor & Gamble, A.G. Lafley.

I wanted to sum-up and share some of the key takeaways from the talk he gave, as I believe there to be some great nuggets of wisdom. For those who don't know much about A.G.'s resume and track record, please take the time to review. All-in-all, he was largely responsible for some significant growth initiatives and innovation at P&G during his 10 year tenure at the helm of one of the worlds largest companies.

The topic of his talk was "Driving Sustainable Growth." Normally, I would greet a topic of this magnitude with some skepticism, despite the 'cred' of the presenter. Although he by in large was able to narrow his approach to tactical and usable advice and pragmatic suggestions.

Goals. There are only 2 kinds: Financial and Strategic. That's it. I agree wholeheartedly. In making each type of goal, he mentioned the importance in determining a commitment and stretch goal. Most of us do this already, but the next tidbit we can forget. Goals, when not properly set, can create serious ramifications to people other than ourselves. Understand the people who are affected and are invested in the ability to achieve the goals. Notably, we all share some common groups - shareholders, employees and investors. Each group has distinct interests. Take them into consideration throughout the planning and goal-setting process. Making unrealistic, unattainable and untimely expectations can create disillusionment amongst employees and dissatisfaction amongst investors and shareholders.

OK. Next valuable takeaway was when he spoke about the organizational chart. Most of us see this as a pyramid. P&G sees it upside down from the traditional image. People closest to the customer are on top. This creates a system of valing the customer as top-of-mind and customer management as the top priority of the organization. Great philosophy.

In P&G's market analysis, A.G. noted he asks two questions: Where to play and how to win. In analyzing the first question of market selection, he used a simple mentality in looking at the 'core + adjacencies' to the business and shot for the business lines that were close cousins to their existing entrenched markets.

All for now. (much) More to come.